Murphy's Law
by Angelswrath
Summary: Sometimes for one thing to go right in your world first everything else must go wrong.


**Murphy's Law**

_How in the hell did I end up here?_

Rin winced inwardly at her use of foul language, but Inuyasha-sama had been right. Sometimes nothing expressed your emotions better than a four letter word you shouldn't say.

And this was definitely one of those moments.

_Was it a blue moon? Or the botched result of some kitsune magic gone awry? _ She would kill Shippou-kun herself if he had anything to do with this. _This was just like his twisted sense of humor. _But she knew for a fact that the mischievous fox youkai was miles away in Edo on the outskirts of the Western lands.

It couldn't just be one of those days. _Those_ types of days just didn't happen to her.

Oh, she had plenty of the other type. If someone was destined to be attacked by youkai, kidnapped from her home, almost ravished by bandits, and slip and fall clear off the side of a mountain all in one day, fate demanded it would be her. And it had been her.

Rin made sure her hazel eyes remained shut tightly as she shook her head in self pity. Until today she hadn't particularly minded that wherever she tread catastrophe wouldn't be far behind. It was just how things were. _Who was she to question the mysterious workings of the universe?_

Heat flooded her cheeks as the sound of water splashing reached her burning ears. _Oh but she minded now._ Only she could have had the day she had and then top it off with a little embarrassment and humiliation. No one but she needed to be rescued from one trap only to walk headlong into something even more dangerous. Only she could have luck this bad.

Because only Rin could wander the vastness of the Western lands in the dead of night and still stumble upon a very angry, very preoccupied, and very _naked_ Sesshoumaru-sama.

The icy wind was unforgiving as it tugged mercilessly at Rin's ragged clothing. High above the world below she clung desperately to her master as they sped above the mere mortals in a streak of ungodly light. The frosty air tore the moisture from her eyes and she buried her face uncomfortably in Sesshoumaru's armor plated chest, pondering his strange mood for the thousandth time.

Sheer unadulterated strength supported her. With one strong youkai striped arm he pulled her close as his other empty sleeve fluttered regally in the wind. He rarely carried her in this fashion. _Though this time she had to admit that she'd left him little choice. _She didn't know what the Lord of the West had expected when he woke up this morning, but she knew it didn't involve finding his ward dangling precariously off the side of a mountain. _Again._

She'd had another 'mishap'. That's what Jaken-sama had taken to calling them anyway.

It was much easier than attempting to explain the impossible situations Rin somehow managed to get herself into daily. Today had just been the newest incident in a long line of similar mishaps. . .

_Just don't look down. Rin repeated the mantra over and over in her head, knowing that any moment now the order would be transferred to her brain, and eventually to her traitorous eyes. The girl scooted her petite frame a little further along the rocky edge of the cliff face and for a moment dropped the pretense of courage to hold on for dear life._

_She was bone weary and needed all of her concentration just to cling to the crumbling surface. It was little wonder with the day she had been through. The ferocious wind kept shifting her thoughts to the endless chasm beneath her at all the wrong moments. _

_Rin wasn't afraid of heights in the least, a childhood spent on the back of Ah Un had taken care of that. However, she did have a small problem with the demented group of bandits chasing her clear across the countryside._

_Rin was pretty sure they had no clue who she was, because if they had they would have been the ones doing the running. No one touched the ward of the Lord of the West, unless they were desperate or had a deathwish._

_These men obviously were both. She didn't know exactly who they were, but she had deduced they were bandits when they had killed the youkai faction that had kidnapped her, only to claim her as their own. _

_She'd discovered they were demented when they had actually followed her over the edge of the cliff during her hasty escape. _

_Dust and debris fell into her face at their clumsy attempts to reach her from the outcropping above. Grubby hands were coming uncomfortably close to her skin and Rin dodged yet another overeager swipe from one of her enemies. Her favorite kimono was tattered and stained as it hung limply around her bruised body. It had been the color of pure sunshine before she had been dragged halfway back to Edo._

_Rin hadn't planned her escape over the mountain so much as thrown herself over the side and hoped for the best. The leers in their eyes hadn't been well hidden and she hadn't been reassured in the least by the lecherous grins that had circled the group. Instead of waiting for an organized attack she had been the one to surprise them. If you wanted to call the shocked looks on their faces when she had dove over the edge surprise. . ._

The shivering girl shifted her dirt streaked face to the side until she came into contact with the soft white pelt draped over Sesshoumaru's shoulder. It blocked some of the headwind and shielded her skin from the stinging tendrils of silver and sable colored hair whipping in the wind.

Rin cringed inwardly at her lack of logical planning skills. She would be the first to admit that she could be a bit impetuous at times. Though that wasn't the word Jaken used to describe her. She was sure that that the toad demon had called her insane on more than occasion. And though Sesshoumaru-sama never actually agreed with him, Rin had noticed the slight glow in his golden eyes that signaled his amusement.

He hadn't been amused when he'd found her.

_"Got her!" Rin released a scream of disbelief as one of the men yanked hard on the lock of hair he had somehow managed to grab. Scrambling to regain her balance, she winced at the searing pain his movements caused. He leaned down for a better grip while Rin fought the panic that was slowly beginning to overtake her. He was touching her. _

_Unacceptable._

_Sweat soaked fingers buried themselves in her dark tresses and she cringed at the thought. "Feels like silk," the cretin announced to the men who jeered at the comment. Rin jerked away as much as she dared while dangling hundreds of feet up in the air._

_"Well hurry up and get her up here and we can see if that hair matches the rest of her!" another ordered. This was followed by the sound of others scrambling to the edge to get a better look at the struggling girl. _

_Disgusting creatures. _

_Shuddering at the thought of more than one of them actually getting their hands on her, Rin looked around desperately for a way to discourage them. The man gave a firm tug, which she returned unexpectedly with a snap of her head as her temper flared._

_Swearing loudly her captor struggled not to tumble over the slope and keep his hold. After regaining his balance he sent her an indulgent smile. "She won't say a damn thing," he commented, "she's fighting like a wildcat youkai though." Their lustful stares were eating through the fabric of her once tasteful kimono. The fact that they even had the nerve to look at her in such a way was insulting. _

_The fact that she couldn't stop them was nothing less than infuriating._

_It particularly rankled that they were marveling at the things she secretly loathed about herself. She now unfortunately possessed the body of a woman grown. A child's crooked smile had been replaced with one described by many as dazzling, with darkly lashed hazel eyes just as breathtaking. Her many wandering days had left her with skin that glowed as though it had been kissed by the sun. _

_And Kami could throw all of her "assets" into the seventh hell if it would get her off this mountaintop. Even now her crowning glory, flowing waist length chocolate brown hair, was proving to be her undoing. _

_But that was not why she hated it._

_She detested these things, because they brought the attention of others. Which meant that eventually her master would have to get involved. _

_And that never ended well._

And this incident hadn't been any exception. Rin had been overjoyed at being rescued, but the fate of the men still made her cringe. Deep down she knew that her ill fated adventures were nothing more than a nuisance to Sesshoumaru-sama. So when the powerful taiyoukai was forced to drop everything to retrieve her he tended to make an example out of his target.

If anyone else in the western lands had entertained the thought of touching the ward of Sesshoumaru they were quickly reconsidering after today.

_"Haughty thing isn't she?"_

_Rin refused to respond to any of their catcalls or lewd invitations. She kept her eyes resolutely on the craggy surface in front of her, and silently vowed that they would have to yank her hair out by the roots before she'd let them pull her up onto that ledge. Her lack of reaction sobered a few of her pursuers, as they realized that the woman's level of indignation vastly outweighed her fear._

_"W-Where did you say you got her from?" one asked hesitantly, a troubled look crossing his face for the first time. The man attempted to peer down at Rin, shielding his eyes from the growing light on the horizon._

_"Since when did it matter to you where they come from?" the one she hadn't quite managed to escape replied flippantly. "A bunch of youkai had her, she's probably just some demon's whore."_

_Rin seriously considered reaching up and tossing the wretched man off of the cliff. _

_It was difficult to live most of your life in the presence of the taiyoukai without a little of it rubbing off on you. She dug deep and gathered the remains of her dignity, before sending the men above her a cold stare worthy of Sesshoumaru himself. _

_It had the desired effect. _

_The bandits stood transfixed by the uncharacteristic look of disdain on the innocent woman's face. The man who had finally questioned the wisdom of snatching her, was backing away from the edge as though she'd drawn a weapon. Never taking his eyes off of her exquisite face as if he could see his own death in her eyes. _

_But death unfortunately was much closer. _

_It came wrapped in the light that they had mindlessly ignored. Engulfing them in deadly silver, screams, and agony. _

_Then silence._

Rin shuddered at the horrific memory, and tried to forget the sight of rivers of blood cascading down blocks of eroded stone. It had seeped into the fabric of her kimono, stained her fingers a damning red, before Sesshoumaru-sama had snatched her effortlessly from her perch and into the sky.

The pressure around her lessened slightly as the taiyoukai slowed and hovered above a patch of swaying treetops. A familiar sight greeted Rin's tear filled hazel eyes. The soft glow of a campfire, created for her benefit alone, surrounded by a grazing Ah-Un and a smoldering Jaken-sama. Even from a distance she could see his mouth already moving, beginning the litany of insults he always recited when he was forced to worry over her.

Sesshoumaru dove suddenly, the majestic trees bending beneath the onslaught. They were airborne and then just as suddenly they were not. There was no warning as he released his unsuspecting charge. Rin stumbled gracelessly for a moment, struggling not to meet the eyes of her irritated master. _Best to get this over with._

She plastered on her best sheepish smile and lifted her face to his intense golden gaze. "Rin is very sorry about today," she whispered quietly, though Sesshoumaru had recognized her submissive tone of speech as wheedling by now. She continued in hopes that he would at least realize that she didn't intentionally annoy him, that apparently it was something beyond her control.

"Rin did not mean to wor-," Rin winced inwardly as the youkai's eyes darkened perceptively. "inconvenience Sesshoumaru-sama," she hastily added.

Her smile faltered as he scanned her briefly. Aware that she had been dragged through everything in a ten mile radius, and most of it had decided to make a home on her skin, hair, and clothes, his look of distaste was not surprising.

However, the way his gaze shifted from her disheveled state to his own was. Rin's eyes widened in shocked surprise as she suppressed a giggle that would have most likely gotten her killed if she'd allowed it to escape.

Sesshoumaru didn't have a noticeable aversion to getting dirty, it was just a fact that he simply did not. Rin had watched him wade through a youkai strewn battlefield without getting so much as a drop of his enemy's blood on his pristine attire. And she was sure that had also been the case when he'd dispatched the bandits on the cliff.

It had been her human tendency to cling that had been his downfall.

Small blood caked handprints peppered his clothing and the pelt she had snuggled against looked as though it had taken the plunge over the cliff with her. The baffled look on the Lord of the west's face was mildly comical, as though he couldn't believe that the filth dared to stick to him.

He sniffed the stench once. Twice before blinking away his shock in true Sesshoumaru fashion then leveled her with a mildly accusing glare. "S-Sesshoumaru-sama is displeased, I-I. . ."

"Are you quite finished, Rin?" He asked, obviously tired of the girl pretending to avoid the retaliation they both knew wouldn't come. Rin didn't miss his eyes rolling heavenward momentarily before he shrugged the dusty pelt from his body. She winced as the familiar softness fell to the ground in a thoughtless heap.

Her fingers itched to retrieve it. Memories of warm nights spent encased within its cozy folds swamped her. It had been long ago, but even now she could remember her contented sighs as the smell of Sesshoumaru-sama tickled her nose, and sent her into a dreamless sleep.

Once as a child she had been brave enough to speculate on the pelt's origin. Her persistent insistence that the fur could be the tail of her favorite inu-youkai was even more ammunition to support Jaken's insanity claims.

The object of her thoughts spun swiftly on his heels and Rin hurried to take her place in his footsteps. Sesshoumaru paused, but did not look back. "You will remain here until this Sesshoumaru returns," he commanded softly, before turning to his faithful servant. "Jaken you will make sure Rin remains alive until I do."

The toad demon sent her a look that clearly said 'I told you so' as they watched their master disappear into the darkness. Her hope plummeted at his dismissal. She never could stand Sesshoumaru-sama being upset with her. Years ago she would have presented him with gifts she knew he would find meaningless until he would sigh, and the coldness in his eyes would retreat a little. A sign that she was back in his good graces.

But she was no longer a child. Rin searched for a way to make amends. Her eyes fell on the discarded fur. Gathering the smudged fabric to her chest, she attempted to remove some of the dust buried within the strands to no avail.

_I should clean it._

The idea was simple and a lot more practical than flowers. And practical was definitely something her lord appreciated. _Besides when he said remain here he didn't mean exactly here. _Mind made up the girl marched towards the woods to redeem herself. Making sure to give Jaken-sama a face full of fur when he opened his mouth to squawk in protest.

_It would only take a moment._ And this task was easy enough for even her to complete without getting into trouble.

One day she'd learn to ignore that little voice in her head that insisted she had a good idea.

On that fateful day she'd recognize it as the world's way of telling her that for once in her life she should attempt to do what she was told. One day.

_But not today._

"_Remain here." _So simple, and yet she couldn't manage. The sound of swift moving water had drawn her forward. Intent on her task Rin hadn't noticed anything amiss until she'd been about to step from the cover of the trees. Her eyes scanned the darkness. . . and froze.

Riveted. Only one tantalizing glimpse before closing her eyes so tight that they burned. But the image was etched forever in her mind.

The fur dropped reflexively from her numb fingers, task forgotten.

_Flawless. _

_Was that even possible?_

_Perfection moving beneath the light of the full moon._ Sesshoumaru-sama's battle-honed muscles rippled beneath the waves, the water crashing and receding upon him relentlessly. Every movement was mesmerizing. Each motion full of unconscious deadly grace. His clawed fingers washing away all traces of contact with the mortal world.

The simple act should have been reassuring. Made him more human. _Kami forbid!_

But it didn't. If anything the youkai seemed even more untouchable than before. A mystical being revealed to her eyes alone. _Forbidden._

Rin willed the memory of her master away in vain. Silver spun hair was haphazardly tossed over one shoulder, curled tips floating effortlessly on the water's surface. Images of smooth skin pulled tautly over firm muscles appeared beneath her eyelids, rivulets of water trickling down to hidden places she would never explore.

Rin had traced their enticing paths with her eyes before her conscience had gotten the best of her. An embarrassing heat raced over her shivering limbs as her body reacted.

It didn't make sense that a creature made of ice could set her body ablaze. But she burned. Burned in places she wasn't aware she had, with an intensity she didn't know she could feel.

Swearing softly again beneath her breath Rin contemplated opening her eyes to temptation personified.

Her awakened body trembled, though she didn't know if it was from fear or anticipation. Logic and self preservation invaded her consciousness, whispered a warning, and was stubbornly ignored with a small sheepish smile.

She'd never had much of either. . .

The Lord of the West ignored the intrusions of the world around him, including the fact that he was obviously being watched. He had been musing somewhat illogically on how much his ward had changed in such a brief time.

_How different she had become in the span of a decade._ A mere moment in the life of a youkai. When the contrary girl in question had done what she did best.

Contradicted him.

Sesshoumaru shook his head in silent amusement, as the familiar gaze of hazel eyes peeking from the shelter of the trees found him. Fascinated by the creature she should by all rights fear. The echoes of ten years past were too strong to ignore, and he fought the reluctant smirk she always brought to his face.

_Hmm,_ _not so different then._


End file.
